บท 175: Chapter 175: Who Stole Superman?
Hal watched as Kalu stood above the battleship, his black cloak billowing in the direction of the Green Lantern Corps in space, and heaved a sigh of relief, his heavy heart easing.
He believed his speculation was correct; these wandering Kryptonians needed a territory to survive, and they had set their sights on Earth. They wouldn't hesitate to engage in direct combat with the Green Lantern Corps.
'Perhaps I should have openly declared war on them instead of trying to save Superman and luring them into space for battle.'
There was no need to lure them; the Kryptonians would take to space for battle on their own. It was a battle they couldn't evade—a fight for survival. Only victory would allow them to establish a foothold on Earth.
With this in mind, the gaze behind Hal's eyepatch couldn't help but sweep over the desolation, the scorched earth, the slowly rising smoke, and the scattered limbs and corpses in the Arctic.
"Just a single charge, and the entire Amazon Legion was wiped out, leaving only a few Amazon warriors struggling to rise from the scorched frozen ground."
"I shouldn't have let the Amazon Legion get involved in this war."
Their combat methods were still feudal, and the power of magic was insufficient to withstand the intensity of various artillery and missiles, let alone get close enough. It only resulted in unnecessary casualties.
The carnage was so severe that he dared not even turn to face Wonder Woman.
"What are you still doing here?"
Hal turned around to see Wonder Woman's golden eagle armor shimmering with golden light, her wings spread behind her as she appeared beside him in a flash of golden light.
He couldn't see Diana's eyes because of the mask resembling an eagle's beak, pulled down from above, covering the upper half of her face, leaving only slightly pale lips and a delicate chin with sharp contours visible.
Her voice, devoid of any tremor, emanated from her cold white lips, revealing a resolute and iron-blooded demeanor.
"Wonder Woman..."
Hal opened his mouth, unsure how to comfort this stunningly beautiful woman.
This level of brutal warfare was not something a woman could endure.
Taking the Amazon Legion from Themyscira and then watching them be wiped out in just one battle, Hal didn't know how Diana could bear this guilt.
Guilt and pain would accompany her for the rest of her life, deeply ingrained in her soul.
"This is the fate of the Amazons. I will avenge them."
Wonder Woman gripped her sword tightly, unable to help but clench it, the sound of metal grinding echoing.
She couldn't help but think of raising the sword, about to strike the Valiant, only to be hit square in the stomach by Kalu, leaving her unable to stop the battleships' artillery barrage, fueling Diana's anger even more.
Kalu's strength wasn't vastly superior to Superman's. In a real fight, especially with Diana already freed from her bracelets, they were evenly matched.
However, a critical blow, almost a sneak attack by Kalu, prevented Diana from stopping the onslaught on the Amazon Legion, leaving her deeply unwilling. This sense of unwillingness fueled her anger.
"There will be opportunities. We succeeded; the blood of the Amazon warriors will not be in vain. In our next battleground, in space, they have no chance of winning."
Hal squinted as he watched the battleship heading towards space, where the two million Green Lantern Corps were stationed.
As for the Amazon warriors... Hal, despite his awkwardness, couldn't help but think at this moment that the Amazon warriors died unjustly—they didn't deserve this.
"What are we waiting for?"
Wonder Woman's golden wings trembled behind her as she prepared to fly into space for the final showdown.
Hal stopped her in time.
"He hasn't reached space yet. He might be rallying his troops. We need to finish this in one stroke, wipe out all the Kryptonians. Wonder Woman, hold back your anger for now." Hal quickly diverted Wonder Woman's attention, saying, "In the recent battle, I saw them transporting supplies, but not Superman. Let's go into his Fortress of Solitude and have a look. Maybe we'll find Superman and gather some information."
Diana took a few deep breaths before she could listen to Hal's suggestion.
She knew she couldn't offer any constructive advice at the moment. At the same time, she wanted to kill all the Kryptonians. Anger was constantly assaulting her brain, challenging her rational thinking. Being able to understand human speech was already a sign of calm rationality.
"Okay," Diana responded in a deep voice.
Hal and Diana then turned towards the Fortress of Solitude.
The gates of the Fortress of Solitude were wide open. It still maintained some lighting, and the power generators in the depths remained intact. The researchers had evacuated hastily, leaving behind a mess—test tubes, shelves, and items scattered on the ground.
The once orderly and bustling biological research laboratory now felt desolate.
Hal and Diana entered the biological research laboratory and saw where Superman had been lying for research, there was a three-meter-wide hole, along with darkness coming from an unknown source.
"The Green Lantern ring detected that this soil has been exposed to the air for only about ten minutes. It's possible that the Kryptonians abandoned Superman and someone dug through the mountains, breached the walls of the Fortress of Solitude, and took Superman from the research lab."
Hal grabbed a handful of soil, and the Green Lantern ring emitted a probing light, determining the time the soil from the hole had been exposed to the air, and made a rough estimate, drawing a conclusion.
The Kryptonians wouldn't transfer Superman through an entire cave; that would be too much trouble.
Hal was fairly certain that the Kryptonians had given up on Superman.
"While we were fighting, someone secretly dug a tunnel and took Superman away. Who could it be?" Hal stood at the edge of the dark hole, looking inside, pondering.
"We'll find out when we get in there," Diana said coldly, diving headfirst into the darkness of the hole.
"No, wait!" Hal was worried about the potential dangers inside the hole. The correct procedure would be to send in drones to scout and assess the danger before proceeding. But Diana had already rushed in, and Hal couldn't stop her in time. He could only quickly catch up with Diana's golden figure.
The green light illuminated the environment inside the tunnel as they flew for several kilometers, breaking through the ice layer and emerging into sunlight once again.
They were now in the periphery, several kilometers away from the center of the battlefield, on an ice field with obvious signs of infiltration.
Someone had been lurking here, watching the destruction of the Amazon Legion, seizing the opportunity to dig a tunnel and quietly take Superman away.
Their search ended here; they hadn't found Superman, nor had they discovered any more clues.
"Green Lantern Hal, they've reached space and are about to block Earth. The extermination war is starting. Please leave Earth quickly and join the battle," came the communication from the cosmic guardian, Yak.
Hal looked around at the desolate ice, unable to spot any significant targets, hearing the contact from Yak, the malthusian.
The green light from Hal's Green Lantern ring enveloped Wonder Woman, and in the predetermined location, activated the green shuttle portal, leaping through space to face the battleship standing tall in space.
°°°
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